Civet smell

Hi! I was wondering what civet smells like! Some say it is very fecal if not dilluted. I was told it is fecal-acidic with a honey-like note and when dilluted at 0.1 % it gives a muguet note. In which fragrances I can smell it? I think it must be a very sensual note but I don't succed to find a scent with a predominat civet note. Can you help me?

Re: Civet smell

Gato, I don't know if you are in the US or if Common Scents ships internationally but they do list a phone number and email address for inquiries. *They have an oil, which I have, called Civet. *I don't know the scent of real civet, but their oils are inexpensive so if you can get them to send you a sample or a bottle, you would get an idea of a civet blend. *Their version is not what I would call exceptional but a very pleasant fragrance that I have no problem wearing. *You could also try searching for perfumes or oils with civet thru your search engine and see what you come up with. *I think its use in fragrance is to reflect somewhat of an animalistic scent . . . but in a good way.

Re: Civet smell

Civet is obtained from a mongoose-like animal which is kept in a small cage. Every few days the perineal gland (anus sac) with which the civet marks its territory in the wild, is scraped out. *Chanel No. 5 contained civet until 1998 - but was there an 'export version'?
Civet, castoreum, musk and ambergris are illegal in the USA.

Re: Civet smell

One of the rare companies that still can use real civet is Guerlain. Nothing illegal here. When Jean Paul Guerlain learned that it was going to become illegal to produce civet, he bought enormous stocks. So, the composition of Jicky still uses real civet. Though I don't know what will happen in the future, now that Mr Guerlain is in semi-retirement and that the classics have to be reformulated anyway because of the alergenes (ex: oakmoss and coumarin) they contain.

Re: Civet smell

Originally Posted by cedriceccentric

One of the rare companies that still can use real civet is Guerlain. Nothing illegal here. When Jean Paul Guerlain learned that it was going to become illegal to produce civet, he bought enormous stocks. So, the composition of Jicky still uses real civet. Though I don't know what will happen in the future, now that Mr Guerlain is in semi-retirement and that the classics have to be reformulated anyway because of the alergenes (ex: oakmoss and coumarin) they contain.

Interesting to know. Do you know if they still use ambergris? I heard they still did in the 90's.

Re: Civet smell

Ambergris is collected while floating in the ocean, it does not hurt the whales, so my guess is that it's simply too rare and expensive to be used often. Maybe that's why most don't but houses like Creed still do.